Jarryd Hayne is all the rage in American Gridiron

Biggest game-changer in rugby history?

I n 20 years' time Jarryd Hayne might be seen as the biggest game-changer - or maybe Hayne-changer - in rugby history.

...Looking good the Hayne plane and just taking off...opening lots of doors for the league boys and rugby players cos yanks don't know one code from the other anyways...he's all the talk at the moment but has been for years in the NRL...

..just a natural footballer and both the Fijians and the Aussies will be claiming him but I also see the yanks thought he was a Kiwi...probably mistook him for an All Black...

..originally he played for Fiji at the RLWC and i remember when they caused a big upset beating France due largely to the Hayne train...the Kangaroos are rubbish now with out him,,he hasn't made the draft yet but surely that's just a formality..

49ers RB/PR Jarryd Hayne rushed 10 times for 58 yards in Thursday's preseason finale, adding two catches for an additional 17 yards.

 ...the question is not will he make the team anymore...the question is who will play him in the movie ?...and/ or who will be the next league/ union player to successfully convert to NFL..

..Israel Folau would go all right I'd say given he's already transitioned from rugby league to AFL to rugby union - just a natural footballer....NFL scouts will be on the lookout for such talent down under now that the Hayne plane has landed...

...not everyone will be happy that Hayne is being selected though, after some of them have gone through the grades dreaming of playing in the big league and this no name Fijian kid with a big dream and no experience , comes in out of the blue, nails it and displaces one of them...such is the phenomena of Jarred Hayne..

All aboard 49ers' incredible journey

The Hayne Train is flying, with the player selected in the San Francisco 49ers roster. It's a cracking story, however it turns out, says Chris Rattue.

Jarryd Hayne has done the impossible. But that might be the easy part.

The Hayne Train is flying, with the former Parramatta, New South Wales and Australian league back selected in the San Francisco 49ers roster announced over the weekend. It's a cracking story, however it turns out.

No one bothered to predict Hayne would fail in the NFL as such. Rather, it was assumed that one heck of a footballer had taken on too much with a switch from Aussie league to American football. The 27-year-old has proved assumptions wrong so far and some of us are now contemplating whether to sign up for the NFL internet pass. It will be hard to resist.

Clips of pre-season games have shown Hayne pulling off impressive moves. This has turned him into an Australasian sensation, one making waves in the US of A although it's hard to judge quite how big those waves genuinely are from this distance.

For those who didn't follow Hayne in his league days, this is not any old footballer we are talking about.

He was exceedingly gifted, a fairly big bloke at around 100kg who could glide at high speed, never appeared rushed, had beautiful balance and hands, would shake off defenders in that how-did-he-do-that Dan Carter type of way, and could defend tough.

There were often questions about what his best position was and he didn't always make that answer easy in various ways.

He was loyal though. The Parramatta Eels are constantly rebuilding, to use the old excuse for dud footy clubs. This made it easy for Hayne to stand out on one hand, and hard on another. He wasn't so much a beacon of hope at the Eels, more like Jimmy Page in a ukulele orchestra.

Hayne knows how to pick them. The Hayne Train has joined a potential Train Wreck, a club where a rash of player departures has been part of what is commonly described as a tumultuous off-season.

The San Francisco 49ers, with glories aplenty in the past, went 8-8 last season and are expected to be worse this time around. They have a new coach in Jim Tomsula, in charge of an NFL team for the first time. If Hayne is a running back let's hope the majority view of the 49ers' offensive line is way wrong. Oh yes. The powerhouse Seattle Seahawks, shooting for a third consecutive Super Bowl appearance, are also in the NFC west division.

In heading to the 49ers, Hayne - initially linked strongly to the Detroit Lions - probably increased his chance of cracking the roster, but with a team whose roster is likely to crack.

The real story about where Hayne fits in the 49ers and NFL will start to emerge next week when they host the Minnesota Vikings, and predictions are mixed.

One fan wrote: "This guy looked incredible against the Chargers' 5th string defence" but others are more welcoming of Hayne's late-career move and applaud his skill and fortitude.

If following your dreams is the script for Hayne, he's picked the right place. Nearly 20 years ago, coach Tomsula's family scooted off to warm beds while he lived in his uncle's car for a year to work an unpaid job with a college team.

As the Sports Illustrated profile recorded: "To combat loneliness, he kept a black lab and a cat as room-mates. Tomsula hung his suits in the back seat, right above the litter box."

Hayne is living nowhere near as rough, but maybe Tomsula recognised a kindred sporting spirit.

- NZ Herald

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